The joyful and busy return of Messy Church!

After an enforced break of two years, we had a marvellous return of all things messy with our Harvest Messy Church service on Saturday 18^th of September in Aldeburgh Church Hall.

It was attended by 31 children and 36 adults!

The Hall was full of the sound of children (and adults) having a wonderful time… the children had grown so much since we last had Messy Church – it was astonishing.

Everyone was extremely happy to be back. The relief and joy that events such as this are now possible again felt very evident.

The children were able to participate in bread roll making, apple bobbing, chocolate apple dipping (that was very messy, but excellent fun) biscuit decorating, writing prayers for our Harvest thankfulness prayer tree, harvest wreath making, pom pom hedgehog making, and many more crafts.

Fran read the Bible story from Luke’s Gospel about the rich farmer who stored up all his crops and didn’t share his wealth.  We then talked with the children about what that story could teach us.  That was followed by some prayers using various cereals and then we all sang ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’.

Jules and Andy kept us all supplied with endless cups of coffee, squash, hot chocolate and biscuits.

Reverend James offered the final prayer and blessing, and everyone left very happy with their bags full of the things they had made and full of the joys of harvest.

We had a retiring collection in aid of the emergency appeals for the Afghanistan Crisis launched by Unicef, The British Red Cross, and Church’s Welcome – all charities that work with children and families.

Huge and heartfelt thanks to all the helpers and supporters on Saturday – you worked so hard.  This was a Benefice/Community wide effort too – with helpers from Aldringham Church, The Baptist Church and the Pilgrims Group.  As I keep saying, this valuable ministry amongst children and families would not be possible without you.  So THANK-YOU!!

We also greatly appreciate the support for this ministry that we receive through your prayers – they are so important.

We gave out invitations to every child and family for our Harvest Festival Service in Aldeburgh Church on Sunday 3^rd October.

Preparations now begin for Christmas Messy Church on Saturday 11^th December at the Fairfield Centre: 10am till 12noon.  Time to get the glitter out!

Revd. Johanna Mabey

 

Here are some photos from the day

Message from our Curate in Charge,
The Revd James Marston

Priests are called first and foremost to be a person of prayer. Indeed, all Christians nurture and develop their relationship with God by the medium of prayer.

It is through prayer that we still ourselves sufficiently in order to detach ourselves from the quotidian routine in order to see the world around us through the lens of faith and the spiritual.

The history and practice of the Christian faith inform us that prayer has many forms – immediate and urgent cries for help, intercessionary, liturgical, hymn singing, study, the Eucharist, silence…the list goes on.

Although our whole lives and how we lead them are a prayer to God, making time to join the ancient river of prayer, in whatever form, is the heartbeat of our Christian lives. Prayer is how we still ourselves in order to be able to listen to God in our own lives and ensure we direct our lives to His service.

We do meet to pray together on a Sunday morning, but church services are not really sufficient for the development of our prayer life and, in turn, the nurturing of our souls and our relationships with God. Clergy often try to inspire congregations to a prayer life alongside, yet also outside of, Sunday church.

This week one of our benefice elders Jan Chard has offered to maintain a benefice-wide prayer list for those who we hear of in our communities that might be in need. This is important work and part of our collective ministry and mission to the communities in which we live.

We are, as Christians, called to be aware of and look out for those who might be sick or unwell, in trouble or adversity. These people are prayed for at Morning Prayer at Aldeburgh church which I, and a few others, usually attend.

If you hear of anyone from your parish who is in need and asks for this public prayer ministry do let Jan know and she will update our benefice’s daily prayer list accordingly. Remember we do need people’s verbal permission to put their names on the list.

Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if you would like someone added.

In other news I’d like to congratulate and thank all those involved with this year’s Ride and Stride event which raised much money for the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust. As usual our benefice was well organised and well prepared as we welcomed cyclists keen to explore our churches. 
A great success. 

James

Collect
O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear
the prayers of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do, and also may have
grace and power faithfully to fulfil them;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Jeremiah 11.18-20
It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew;
then you showed me their evil deeds. 
But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
that they devised schemes, saying,
‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered!’ 
But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

Second Reading
James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. 
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Gospel Reading
Mark 9.30-37
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

A Message from Revd Sheila Hart

I am writing this because I am concerned that some of you have misunderstood James’ message in the pew sheet last week in regard to my future involvement with the benefice and I would like to put a few of those right.
Firstly, I have NOT resigned from the benefice, neither have I resigned as Rural Dean BUT there are a few issues going on with my family and me which are causing me to think carefully about what is the best way for me to handle the next few months especially so that James and the ministry team have time to plan for unforeseen eventualities which may happen.
As a result, I have decided not to lead Sunday worship in any of our churches until our situation has stabilised somewhat.

As far as I am able, I shall continue to attend meetings and do pastoral visits and home communions all with the proviso that all is well with me and Mary, our daughter. I shall give you as much notice as I can for a change in my situation BUT I shall not be resigning from the benefice for the foreseeable future.

I continue to value your thoughts and prayers and do please keep in touch.

With my love to you all

Sheila x

 

Stewardship

St Andrews Aldringham 12 September 2021

Address by Mark Goyder

A few minutes’ walk from here is the RSPB hide. You know the one? It looks across the reedbed towards Sheep wash Crossing. It’s a good place to watch the marsh harriers. To get there you go along the boardwalk.

Early this year a firm of contractors was commissioned by the County Council to renovate the boardwalk. The old planks were ripped up and new ones put down.

When I talked to the men doing the work, I found them disillusioned.
‘This wood that we are putting is no good. It won’t last that well,’ they said.

I asked if they had pointed this out to the council. Yes, they had but they were told to go ahead anyway. Someone had an annual budget to keep to, and had found cheaper timber. They weren’t concerned with the risk that their successors would pay the price for this decision.

Someone at the council has not been behaving like a steward. Stewardship means looking after the assets with which we have been entrusted and passing them on to our successors or to the next generation in better condition.

Let me give you another local example.

When the vicarage in Westleton became redundant, local people developed a plan to enable people to stay in the village as they got older. With the blessing of the Church of England, they envisaged building 20 bungalows as sheltered accommodation, and using the redundant vicarage building itself as a social hub for future residents. In 2020 East Suffolk Council turned the proposal down. They said the proposal was unacceptable in the light of the ‘historical significance of St Peter’s Church nearby’.

I don’t know about you, but I think offering the senior citizens of tomorrow the chance to find a home and stay in the village, and using the vicarage to combat loneliness might be more in tune with the best historical traditions of the church. More so than opening the way for more executive housing.

Now just Imagine if a house builder had been on the look-out for profitable community-initiated schemes and had worked with the community groups to help realise their objective. There are such people about. I’ve just read about a company which specialises in making flats for young people more affordable by making them smaller but designing them so that they don’t feel cramped.

That’s what I would call stewardship. Thinking ahead to the needs of the next generation.

When I started talking to Rev James about future generations, he reminded me about the growing activities of the Messy Church for the under 5s in Aldeburgh…

Let’s think further about what we are doing for future generations.

I have spent my life working in and around business. I spent twelve years as a manager in engineering and paper manufacturing. I have worked with some dedicated people who cared deeply about what they did and the customers they did it for. I have also experienced all kinds of takeover and merger and management buyout, some of them with greedy, uncaring people at the helm who just wanted to extract as much profit as quickly as possible. lt made me realise that business can be a force for good but it matters who owns a company and whether they are thinking short term or long term. So I set up an organisation called Tomorrow’s Company that has spent the last 25 years mobilising the power of business and investment to make things better for people. Making a profit yes; but doing so in a way that adds value to people and the community. As that passage from Ecclesiastes puts it

‘I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s mind’.

If you ask people in different countries around the world if they think the system is working for them, only one fifth say that it is. It is all too remote. Too often people feel helpless to influence things.

To me a vital part of Christian faith – something, as well, which is shared by all major religions – is that everything is connected. And we are taught that the Kingdom of God is not some far away place that we will find out about after death. The Kingdom of God is here, all around us and we are put on this earth to nurture it. God has made everything beautiful. We are here to be good stewards of it. We all have the potential to make things better. We are all endowed by God with some capacity to contribute to the advancement of that Kingdom. We just have to look for it.

How do we in the church think about wealth creation? Do we think of it as a remote thing operated by strangers that we cannot influence?

This is where stewardship comes in. We have more influence than we might imagine. The world of business and investment is not a black box. People are influencing it in all kinds of ways.

Take fast fashion. 90% of the people who work in the garment industry are women. Many of them are badly exploited, not only in Bangladesh but here at home where companies in cities like Leicester have been exposed for exploitation. The garment industry is, after the oil industry, the second biggest polluter in the world.

When my daughter comes to stay with our granddaughter, odd packages keep being delivered. At first, I wondered why Diana was buying so much stuff. But she wasn’t buying it: she was swapping it. There is a very successful enterprise called NU that does this. Its customers are enjoying fashion while also recycling it.

We make all kinds of buying decisions that make a difference.

A confession: I love peanut butter and the like. And my favourite nut butter was a scrumptious almond one that came from Marks & Spencer. I used to buy it in threes and fours!

Then I became aware of the destruction caused by palm oil. I looked at the jar and there it was. Palm oil. That means deforestation and bad impacts on the world’s ability to absorb C02. No more almond butter.

Or think about the decisions people make when they buy a car. Last year, the International Energy Agency published research that showed that SUVs – so-called Sports Utility vehicles – were the second largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions (second largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions) over the past decade, eclipsing all shipping, aviation, heavy industry and even lorries.

Each year, said IEA, SUVs belch out 700 mega tonnes of CO2, about the entire output of the UK and Netherlands combined. If all SUV drivers banded together to form their own country, it would rank as the seventh largest emitter in the world.

Last weekend I was contacted by a friend whose daughter bought a flat in Basildon. The company building the flats failed to put in any firebreaks in internal walls. As a result of a review following Grenfell Tower, her fire insurance is now FIVE TIMES what it was. I hope none of my pension savings are invested in a building company which is such a poor steward.

Think about investment.

Anyone here who has a pension, or even a life insurance policy, is through those channels a shareholder. As such we have the opportunity to choose funds that have the right impact on this wonderful world, or tell our pension trustees what they can and cannot do with our money.

When I left a big company in my late thirties, I had to set up a personal pension scheme and save directly into that. It gives me a buzz to know that part of my pension is invested in an investment fund that focuses on renewables and environmental improvements, and stays away from industries like oil and tobacco and mining.

In two weeks’ time we will be celebrating Harvest Festival. The hymns we sing and most of the prayers we say are left over from the day when agriculture dominated the economy. Since then, the economy has moved on to manufacturing, services, health, housing, leisure, now digital and artificial intelligence. To me all of that, and the way we invest our money, is part of the harvest. In our church it is time to think about what a c21 version of Harvest festival would look like.

How well have we sowed? How will our grandchildren reap? How can we improve what Ecclesiastes in our reading calls ‘the business that God has given the sons of men to be busy with?’

And the daughters!

That to me is the challenge of stewardship.

 

Post Communion
Almighty God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love is the fulfilling of the law:
grant that we may love you with our whole heart
and our neighbours as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Afghanistan Appeals – Can you help?  This week (19th September) at the 10.30am Aldeburgh Service, there will be a collection to help organisations that are supporting the Afghanistan refugees and children. You can of course donate online by clicking on the links below.   Welcome Churches The Welcome Churches Emergency Afghan Fund is calling for donations to help offer local support to the new arrivals. As the disaster in Afghanistan unfolds, hundreds of Afghans and their families are being evacuated to the U.K. and are in need of assistance. Local churches are at the forefront of a welcoming and inclusive society. Welcoming new neighbours from across the world, especially when they are in need, is part of the biblical mandate Christians have to welcome the stranger. Donate today to help Welcome Churches support the local church as it offers help to newly arrived Afghan families. https://welcomechurches.org/donate/ British Red Cross How will my donation help people in Afghanistan? The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is on the ground in all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces – including isolated rural areas – providing essential relief and supporting hospitals and medical facilities. They run over 150 health centres and clinics, including 36 mobile health teams who cover the entire country.  Their Covid-19 hospital in Kabul has also treated thousands of patients and remains operational as cases continue to rise. With their network of staff and 40,000 volunteers, they’re ready to support families through the multiple crises they’re facing right now. Your donation will help go towards delivering food, water, basic medical supplies and medicines, water and shelter. How will my donation help Afghan families resettled in the UK? Your money will help their work supporting the hundreds of families currently arriving in the UK from Afghanistan. The Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing emotional support and essential items, including warm clothes, blankets, soap, toothbrushes and nappies. https://www.redcross.org.uk/ UNICEF – Protect Children in Afghanistan UNICEF is shocked by the rapid escalation in violence and multiple violations against children’s rights in Afghanistan over recent weeks. Hundreds of children have been killed and over 1,000 injured, with more and more being left in urgent need of food, water, and medical supplies. Afghanistan’s children should not pay for this crisis with their childhoods. Boys and girls are caught up in violence, watching as their families and communities are torn apart. They need protection and peace now. UNICEF is on the ground reaching vulnerable children and families with essential life-saving supplies.  https://www.unicef.org.uk/   Please do donate what you can. At the 10.30am (19th September) Aldeburgh service all contactless donations will be going to help the appeals Next week – Sunday 26th September Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity   Texts from Coventry Cathedral’s Tablets of the Word Part Two by John Giles I am the Vine, Ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him The same beareth much fruit For apart from me you can do nothing.     John 15.5 Six of the verses chosen for Coventry Cathedral are from St. John’s Gospel. Three, including today’s verse, come from what we know as Christ’s Last Discourses with the disciples, following the Last Supper. Grapes, wine, and the vines from which they came, played a large part in Jewish life. Had not Noah planted the first vineyard after the Flood (Genesis 9.20)? Grapes, vines, and vineyards figure regularly throughout the Old Testament, while the vine is a symbol of the ideal Israel. To this day Jews keeping Passover take care to spill some red wine as a symbol of God’s Grace and Generosity. My Old Testament professor used to say the Jews of old had a “wine-based economy”. No puritan streak there! So Christ invites his followers to abide in him, to come in under his roof and stay with him. He is the stock of the vine; we are to be the branches, growing grapes from the rising sap of his goodness. Oh dear, we don’t do it very well. But the grapes come in the end from Him. Our job is to abide in him. The word comes again famously in the story of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus meeting the stranger: “Abide with us, for it is toward evening” There is a lovely Taizé chant saying just that. It is not easy to “abide”, to “dwell” in Christ in a materialistic fun-loving culture such as our own, obsessed with gold medals which are idolised, rather than the (very good) things, in sport, gardening, acting etc., they celebrate.  We need to maintain our union with the stock, through church, prayer, the scriptures. If we think of Christ as the Vine Stock, then he has become a very old vine, a true Vielle Vigne, from which as we know the best wines of all are grown. Sidney Carter kept alive the thought of Christianity keeping us young and old in his “One more step along the world I go”: You are older than the world can be, you are younger than the life in me; ever old and ever new, keep me travelling along with you: And it’s from the old I travel to the new: Keep me travelling along with you.

NOTICES

Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. You are all more than welcome to join them via Zoom.   The worship starts at 6.30pm (Zoom call opens from 6.10pm) and the call is then left open after the worship time for people to catch up.  The worship is about 30 minutes long.  We have a different worship sheet each week which goes out on a Monday ahead of the Wednesday.   People are more than welcome to email pilgrimstogether473@gmail.com  to receive a copy or be added to our mailing list. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for more info

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

Aldringham Battle of Britain Service This Sunday (19th)   The service starts at 11am, in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting. ALL VERY WELCOME

U Food Banks at the East of England Co-op U Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/  01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

✞ Compline on Zoom ✞ Compline online services are every Wednesday at 6pm. All are very welcome. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for more info

✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ There are many online services you can view from the Church of England and our cathedral. Here are some links below. Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/ church-online/weekly-online-services Church of England Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland/ Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCLecK8GovYoaYzIgyOElKZg St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/stedscathedral

Ride and Stride Update The 2021 Ride and Stride took place on Saturday 11th September. It was lovely to see the churches buzzing with activity again, with supporters and candidates. Well, the teams have done their bit (some visiting up to 18 churches) now it is time to hand over our sponsor money. Please do see your team leader. A HUGE thank you, to all that took part. Janey Blanchflower’s (Aldringham, St Andrew’s) report of her expedition Janey will be in church on Sunday and will hope to collect any remaining sponsorship money. The Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Bike Ride 2021  A big thank you to all my generous sponsors.  The weather was ideal this year – light winds, dry, warm but cloudy – which helped enormously.  This year I started and finished from my home in Thorpeness, cycling 38 miles between 9am and 3.30pm.  No lycra, straight handlebars, three gears and a useful bicycle basket, but I did overtake two lycra-clad cyclists on lightweight racing bikes and a man in lycra on a modern Penny Farthing.  My route was Aldringham, Leiston, Theberton, Middleton, Westleton,  Dunwich, Darsham, Kelsale, Saxmundham, Friston, Knodishall and Aldeburgh.  I managed to survive being edged off the road by wide 4 X 4s and being cut up by boy racers but fortunately there weren’t too many of these.  The most delightful part of the ride was along Fenstreet, a narrow lane with grass growing down the centre which runs along the edge of the Darsham Marshes Nature Reserve between Darsham and Middleton.  No cars, lots of trees, the sound of birdsong and glimpses of a buzzard circling overhead.  We are fortunate to have such beautiful churches in this area and I was able to visit Darsham, Kelsale and St John’s Saxmundham for the first time.  The last leg along the switchback of Leiston Road towards Aldeburgh was hard work and a friend’s framed Victorian text came to mind: ‘In my life, let there be hills to climb’…. The final church was Aldeburgh Baptist Church where I was greeted effusively by the artist Theronda Hoffman who had an exhibition of her work in the church.  She was delighted to fill in the last entry on the sponsorship form and insisted on giving me a present of a pretty tea towel printed with one of her pictures.  Whenever I use it, I will be reminded of a wonderful day on my bike.

Message from our Curate in Charge,
The Revd James Marston

I begin with some unsettling news. Our benefice’s assistant priest, The Revd Sheila Hart, advised me this week that she will be withdrawing from active ministry for the foreseeable future due to personal and family health issues.

Our prayers are with her and her family at this difficult time as we support Sheila through the coming weeks and months as medical investigations continue.

Meanwhile this news naturally means there will be some practical issues with regard to staffing and timing of regular and other services in our benefice, which I, and the ministry team, will be working on in the coming days. I ask for your support, understanding and patience as we do this.

Be assured of our ongoing support for all of our parishes, as we work through the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, we heard the sad news that Val Jeffery, a much-loved and long-standing worshipper at Aldeburgh church died peacefully earlier this week. Our prayers and thoughts are with Dick and the rest of their family. May Val rest in peace and rise in glory.

With this sad and unsettling news from our church community this week and the difficulties of the last 18 months for us all, it may well be time for some spiritual nourishment as we face the challenges of the coming weeks and months.

I would urge you to think about joining me once in a while at the service of Morning Prayer – held at 9am from Monday to Saturday in Aldeburgh church. I go most days and it is by daily giving ourselves to God that Christians nourish their souls in order to do render service to God and the community. And during this service we pray for those in need as well as for the church and other communities of the benefice and diocese.

Regular prayer is important work which underpins our work for others and our own faith and by prayer we are reminded of our joint enterprise of sharing God’s love and supporting one another in the journey of faith.

Peace be with you.

James

Collect
God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel that,
always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Isaiah 50.4-9a
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be
put to shame; he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up. 

Second Reading
James 3.1-12
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Gospel Reading
Mark 8.27-end
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’

Sermon for 12^th September, Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd Johanna Mabey

Isaiah 35.4-7a

James 2.1-10 [11-13] 14-17

Mark 7.24-end

‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

As we’ve just heard in our readings, healing is a sign of God’s kingdom – the fulfilment of God’s purposes.

So it’s a bit disappointing isn’t it? and a bit rubbish to say the least, for those of us who often pray for healing – for ourselves and for others – when, often the longed-for healing doesn’t materialise.

We know we’re supposed to have a more nuanced understanding of healing as something emotional and spiritual if not always physical – but, if we’re honest, that can still feel a bit like a consolation prize.

So, what are we supposed to do when our diseases of mind and body persist?

What’s the point of all this unalleviated suffering?

What’s God up to?

There are some simple answers to that question that are sometimes offered – and please note these come with a hefty health-warning:

First: if we only prayed enough, or if we prayed in the ‘right’ way, then God would do what we asked.

Or Second: suffering is an entirely just punishment for our sins so we just have to bear it, because, deep down, we deserve it.

Or, third: there is no God, so there is no point, no meaning to any of it!

One could offer countless objections to all three of those answers, but, perhaps the most important objection is that not one of them is of any help!

All of them, ultimately, increase and compound suffering – and nowhere do we see Jesus either doing this, or recommending that we should.

As I’m sure you know, a cornerstone of medical ethics is

non-maleficence,

or ‘First do no harm’, and as people of faith, we have a similar responsibility.

We are not here to make things worse for one another.

I’ve been privileged to work in places where sadly people seem to have more than their fair share of suffering… as part of my ministry training, I undertook a placement at Ipswich hospital as a chaplain.

Visiting the neo-natal intensive care unit, the suffering of children felt especially devastating and unjust – the questions there seem somehow sharper, more urgent – we can hear it in the persistent and courageous voice of the Syro-phoenecian woman in the gospel, as she pleads for her daughter.

In a hospital, you know that you aren’t going to make it all better- but you can make sure that it isn’t made worse!

You can make sure it isn’t made worse by the environment in which the patient and family are held…

That said, spend time with anyone who has a chronic disability and it’s soon clear, that there’s so much in the world that makes things worse for them – as if their troubles weren’t enough.

Access for wheelchair users remains a significant issue. It doesn’t take much imagination to know what it’s like not to be able to get into places where other people can go. Being excluded, even if there is no malice or harm intended, is never good.

In the letter of James that we heard earlier, there’s a clear instruction to the Church to show no favouritism; to make no distinctions between rich and poor members.

It’s important that we remain alert not just to those we may be favouring but also those we may be excluding, albeit un-intentionally.

When it comes to human suffering, there’s much we can do that falls into the category of ‘first do no harm’.

Simply paying attention to the attitudes of mind that, without any malice, marginalise…

and the aspects of the physical environment that restrict and exclude, all of which simply makes the suffering worse than it need be.

This may not literally give sight to the blind or unstop ears – although it might make life less hard for those who have those difficulties.

When Jesus said ‘the poor will always be with you’, I think we can be pretty sure that there will always be suffering in this life…for all of us – in one way or another.

So what is God up to in this? I suspect God is up to the same thing he has been up to from the beginning, which is the creation and redemption of the world, and I suspect that no life is too short or limited to be of significance in that creative-redemptive process.

Yes, the suffering is hard – hard to endure, harder still to understand – but we have more power than we realise.

James, in his epistle, quotes the same scripture as Jesus; ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’.

It is love, the greatest of all spiritual gifts, that enables us to recognise and respond to the suffering in others.

It is love that fires that deep sense of the sheer offensiveness of suffering – an energy that drives so many – especially in the medical and caring professions.

God is at work in all of this. The same God who in Christ worked miracles to show us that our desire for healing is ultimately his, and that all those prayers we offer for healing are not in vain, even if the result in this life is not the fullness of what we seek.

Christ is risen from the dead to assure us that suffering and death won’t have the final word, and Christ gives himself to us in bread and wine as a pledge that we too will share in that victory.

In the meantime, there’s much we can do for our neighbour through love; through simple, practical compassion so that suffering isn’t compounded, isn’t made worse by marginalising, or excluding those who suffer.

I’ve been speaking mostly about disability this morning, but much is also applicable to the suffering of refugees – so much in our news right now.

The Syro-phoenician woman was only looking for the crumbs under the table. She knew it wouldn’t take much to change her world, and with God, as we know in the Eucharist, even crumbs; tiny fragments, can become charged with the hope of a new world, and become signs of the fulfilment of God’s healing work.
Amen

Post Communion
Keep, O Lord, your Church, with your perpetual mercy;
and, because without you our human frailty cannot but fall,
keep us ever by your help from all things hurtful,
and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Afghanistan Appeals – Can you help? Next week (19th September) at the 10.30am Aldeburgh Service, there will be a collection to help organisations that are supporting the Afghanistan refugees and children. You can of course donate online by clicking on the links below. Welcome Churches The Welcome Churches Emergency Afghan Fund is calling for donations to help offer local support to the new arrivals. As the disaster in Afghanistan unfolds, hundreds of Afghans and their families are being evacuated to the U.K. and are in need of assistance. Local churches are at the forefront of a welcoming and inclusive society. Welcoming new neighbours from across the world, especially when they are in need, is part of the biblical mandate Christians have to welcome the stranger. Donate today to help Welcome Churches support the local church as it offers help to newly arrived Afghan families. https://welcomechurches.org/donate/ British Red Cross How will my donation help people in Afghanistan? The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is on the ground in all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces – including isolated rural areas – providing essential relief and supporting hospitals and medical facilities. They run over 150 health centres and clinics, including 36 mobile health teams who cover the entire country.  Their Covid-19 hospital in Kabul has also treated thousands of patients and remains operational as cases continue to rise. With their network of staff and 40,000 volunteers, they’re ready to support families through the multiple crises they’re facing right now. Your donation will help go towards delivering food, water, basic medical supplies and medicines, water and shelter. How will my donation help Afghan families resettled in the UK? Your money will help their work supporting the hundreds of families currently arriving in the UK from Afghanistan. The Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing emotional support and essential items, including warm clothes, blankets, soap, toothbrushes and nappies. https://www.redcross.org.uk/ UNICEF – Protect Children in Afghanistan UNICEF is shocked by the rapid escalation in violence and multiple violations against children’s rights in Afghanistan over recent weeks. Hundreds of children have been killed and over 1,000 injured, with more and more being left in urgent need of food, water, and medical supplies. Afghanistan’s children should not pay for this crisis with their childhoods. Boys and girls are caught up in violence, watching as their families and communities are torn apart. They need protection and peace now. UNICEF is on the ground reaching vulnerable children and families with essential life-saving supplies. https://www.unicef.org.uk/ Please do donate what you can. At the 10.30am Aldeburgh service on the 19th September all contactless donations will be going to help the appeals Texts For Today from Coventry Cathedral by Canon John Giles Tablets of the Word is the name given to the eight stone slabs on the side walls of the modern Cathedral in Coventry rebuilt in the 1950s. They bear key New Testament verses, beautifully carved by Ralph Beyer. Roughly seven feet long, they face diagonally into the nave so that you can see them and read them as you go up to the Altar. The carved words of the verses are basic to Christianity. They were chosen by Provost Howard Williams, following his other inspired decision to inscribe “Father Forgive” above the altar in the ruins of the old cathedral, destroyed by German bombs on the night of 14th November, 1940. The Tablets of the Word give us a series of powerful texts to strengthen our understanding of the message of the New Testament. I will be commenting on them in the coming weeks. Coventry incidentally is the UK City of Culture 2021. Tablet 1 The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.    Luke 19.11 The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep                              John 10.11 “Are we lost?” asked one of the young. “We’re not lost” said the leader (your correspondent of course) “We just don’t know quite where we are”. The church youth group from St. Mark’s Sheffield was on a Sunday afternoon “Ramble”, in the Peak District. We had ended up on Kinder Scout, one of the bleakest places in the British Isles. Some Ramble! We all got safely back to base in the end, but for a moment there was real uncertainty. Does that ring a bell for us today? According to Luke, Jesus speaks of himself as Son of Man. He comes amongst us as one of us, as a man, in full humanity, however gifted, where humanity crosses over into divinity. He is not lost himself. His whole concern is for those who are lost. There are so many types of lostness, uncertainty. We might spend a moment thinking quite where lostness hits us, and where Christ’s teaching and example can refix our spiritual and practical compass bearings. And then go on to Part 2 of this Tablet of the Word: The Good Shepherd. John chapter 10 is directed straight at the disciples, and of course Christ’s followers today. The title of the Good Shepherd was especially dear to the first Christians in Rome. In the catacombs are several wall paintings of a young shepherd dressed in a Roman toga, carrying fire in a bucket, and carrying a sheep on his shoulders. Those first Christians knew full well Christ had given his very life for them. It is that sort of faithfulness and dedication to others at whatever expense that can bring back direction and value to our society today. We shouldn’t say too much about verses like these. They are far too important to be wrecked by over- elaborate commentary. They need rather just to be repeated again and again to ourselves till the truth behind them really sinks in. And then let thankfulness break out – as it can and surely will.

Next week –
Sunday 19^th September
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

NOTICES

An Update from The Pilgrims As a group we are also planning to arrange Zoom Quiz and Storytelling Ceilidh evenings again for the winter months.  These proved very popular, and many people said that they appreciated being able to enjoy such evenings from the comfort of their own armchair!  We would also like to gather people’s thoughts on more Zoom Bible study sessions, as again these too proved very popular. Pilgrim Breakfast and Pilgrim Rambles will be starting again very soon too, more information to follow. We did begin to discuss the venue for our Wednesday gatherings at last week’s online meeting.  Everyone present was in agreement that with the current situation regarding Covid, the Thorpeness Pavilion is too small to meet safely and enjoy face to face Pilgrims with singing, shared food etc (which, as we know, is all very important to our face-to-face gatherings).  Continuing on Zoom was considered best for the foreseeable future; we are very open to any suggestions…one being that Wednesday becomes regular on Zoom, especially now we have a gathered community taking in several members, who live a good distance from the area, and wouldn’t be able to attend face to face. But to look to plan face to face ‘Pilgrim Specials’ (for example Harvest) and find a local hall location which is big enough to safely meet and gather in the way we would like to… We would love to hear your thoughts on the above and we are open to hearing any other ideas that Pilgrims might engage in within our local community. Please do contact us, email pilgrimstogether473@gmail.com ✞ Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays ✞ The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. You are all more than welcome to join them via Zoom. The worship starts at 6.30pm (Zoom call opens from 6.10pm) and the call is then left open after the worship time for people to catch up.  The worship is about 30 minutes long.  We have a different worship sheet each week which goes out on a Monday ahead of the Wednesday. People are more than welcome to email pilgrimstogether473@gmail.com to receive a copy or be added to our mailing list. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for more information

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

Aldringham Outdoor Services The services start at 11am, in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout September. ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/ 01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

The Return of Our Messy Church Services We are delighted to be re-starting our much loved Messy Church Services with Harvest Messy Church on Saturday 18th September 2021 in the Church Hall 10am to 12noon. Children of any age, parents, and grandparents are all welcome. No Charge. A fun morning of crafts, bread making, singing, games and prayer… If you would like to book a place, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk HELPERS NEEDED FOR THIS VERY VALUABLE MINISTRY. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV. JO! Another date for your diary: Christmas Messy Church on Saturday 11th December at The Fairfield Centre 10am to 12 noon AGAIN, HELPERS ARE NEEDED… PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV JO!

Compline on Zoom Compline online services are every Wednesday at 6pm. All are very welcome. To join on Zoom, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk

✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ There are many online services you can view from the Church of England and our cathedral. Here are some links below. Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/ church-online/weekly-online-services Church of England Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland/ Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCLecK8GovYoaYzIgyOElKZg St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/stedscathedral

🎶 Alan Bullard Weekly Online Hymns 🎹 Since the lockdown started Alan has recorded over 200 hymns which are available each week to view online. These have been very popular amongst other churches. If you would like to receive these each week, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and we will pass this onto Alan. Here is the link to this week’s hymn – For the fruits of all creation – as the season of harvest begins https://1drv.ms/v/s!AtEyLDlEdaeJg90dJaIAZH2NdN9N4Q (you don’t need to sign into anything, just press play) and Alan’s website for your information. Website www.alanbullard.co.uk

Message from our Curate in Charge, The Revd James Marston

As I began to think about my message to you today over a mid-week macaroni cheese and glass of white wine in the rectory kitchen here in Friston, I thought to myself how so much has happened to me and us in the last two years – flood, plague, lockdowns, uncertainty, and now the retirement of our much-loved incumbent.  

As we keep the show on the road until a new appointment is made, we find ourselves in a strange position – one of pause and reflection, as is natural and expected in a period of vacancy, combined with a renewed energy, and urge to act and do as we emerge blinking into the activity of autumn and the winter months.  

It is my job, I think, to help guide the benefice through this time and try to strike the right balance.  Some habits and customs may fall by the wayside, other fresh ideas and thoughts may emerge – let’s see how it goes.  

Whatever happens this remains an exciting benefice, with much going on and much to look forward to. This week I am preparing for services such as baptisms and memorials and a marriage blessing that have all been requested, following the time of restriction, as people wish to engage once again with church.  And I would commend to you the success, for example, of the benefice choir at Mark’s final service – perhaps this coming together of skill, enthusiasm and passion for praising God gives us food for thought.  

And I urge to you help and encourage Rev Jo with the re-emergence of Messy Church on September 18^th, an important area in which the Holy Spirit is clearly busy and an activity in which we can all, from across our group of churches, play our part.  

Curates, assistant priests and even rectors do not work discreetly, away from the community in which they serve, but together with those in the pews and wider community.  

Proclaiming the Gospel and the knowledge of Christ is a team effort and to share the love of God in this place at this time, whatever the challenges, is something I know I and my clergy colleagues are excited to be part of.  

I’m looking forward to the coming weeks and months we meet again as a benefice at the end of October for our All Saints service in which, I hope, we will celebrate, once again, who we are as we praise God together.    

In the meantime, even though the future might seem a little uncertain, this week’s Old Testament reading contains the opposite “Be strong, do not fear!” 

Peace be with you.  

James  

Collect
Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Isaiah 35.4-7a
Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 

Second Reading
James 2.1-10 [11-13] 14-17
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. [For the one who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.] What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Gospel Reading
Mark 7.24-end
From there Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre.  He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Sermon for 5^th September
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd Mark Lowther

DEUTERONOMY 4: 1-2, 6-9
JAMES 1: 17-END
MARK 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

What is a sermon actually for? Putting together this last one that I’ll preach here as Rector (and laughing to myself that I was starting with this thought – a bit late, you might think!) I did a bit of Googling. There’s lots and lots of American stuff, of course – quite a lot from churches and pastors who are quite used to a sermon that lasts at least half-an-hour – but one observation caught my eye. There was the story of a preacher who arrived in the pulpit of a church where he was the guest preacher to find a notice that said, ‘What are you trying to do to these people’?

We who do preach always hope that the words that we say might actually help a congregation in some way and maybe even encourage them to make positive changes in their lives. But realistically, we know that the chances are that much of the time, the words that we preach will soon end up in the mental recycling bin, forgotten about like a week-old newspaper. But, as anyone who knows me knows, I’m an optimist (I can’t actually see how you can be a Christian and not be an optimist) – so how, with these three readings ringing in our ears, can I offer you a thought or two that might last longer than last week’s Sunday Times? What can I do to you?

Well, let’s get one thing clear straight away. It’s not what I can do to you that really matters, it’s what God can do to you – at best I’m just an enabler. What God can do to you and what you can do for God. In that reading from the Old Testament Moses was telling the people of Israel to observe the rules, the ‘statutes and ordinances’ that God had given him and that their duty was to pass them on to future generations. Which they did.

But there grew up Jewish sects who interpreted ‘the law’ very literally, forgetting to ask themselves why they actually did what they did but just doing it – and giving others who didn’t a hard time. Like the Pharisees. The Pharisees were Jews who, to quote an encyclopaedia definition, ‘continued a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the every-day world.’ And their ‘holier-than-thou’-ness, their pettiness, not to put too fine a point on it, got Jesus’s goat. He called them ‘hypocrites’ – and the origin of that word is tied up with Greek theatre – it originally meant something like ‘play-acting’ – playing a part, not being yourself.

The issue in question was Jesus and his friends being criticised for not obeying the Jewish purity laws, not washing their hands or their food before they ate. Now we know that washing your hands and your vegetables and fruit is a good thing to do and we know why. But if you didn’t know why (and ordinary 1^st-century folk certainly didn’t know what a germ was) and if you blindly just did something because it was in an ancient book of rules it was a very different matter.

The pharisees had a very good reason for being so precious about the laws – it was because, for them, it defined who they were. The laws had come into being, at least in part, to separate the Jews from the peoples whose lands they occupied. ‘We do it this way – we’re not like them’. And here’s where things begin to become a little uncomfortable for us – because we do the same, don’t we? We can all too easily pretend that by doing some things, not doing some things, preserving some outdated things, satisfying ourselves and (we think) making us look good in others’ eyes we are better than others. And God know that we aren’t.

The end of our reading from the Letter of James is very true but potentially very dangerous. He speaks of Christians keeping themselves ‘unstained by the world’. ‘The world’ to James was, of course, the one ruled by a Roman emperor and which had little time for what we might call the ‘human rights’ of the ordinary people of a country like Palestine. The fledgling church told of a very different kind of monarchy, the rule of a heavenly King, a king of love.

So seeing ‘the world’ for what it is and not being seduced by it is vitally important – as much for us now as it was for 1^st-century Palestine. But what James doesn’t mean is that we should distance ourselves from the world – because that’s not what God did and does. ‘God so loved the world’ that he came into it in human form. Engaged with people, loved them, healed them, fed them ‘true bread’.

Died for them, rose again, and lives for them now and forever. He lived for others and calls us to do the same. The examples that James gives us are caring for orphans and widows in their distress but that is just one example (a good one) of what living for others means, isn’t it?

I have seen some wonderful examples of people living for others during my time here. Those who devote themselves to a sick partner or friend, those who give huge amounts of their time to help others less fortunate than themselves, those who use their God-given talents in service of one kind or another. To use James’s vocabulary, not just hearers of the word but doers. Wonderful!

Not everything has been quite so positive but, do you know, I have been very touched by the fact that, on more than one occasion in the last week, people who I know disagree with each other have come together for a common cause – to say goodbye to Ro and to me. And may I say a big thank-you for that. And leave you with a quotation from the introduction to a rather wonderful little book called ‘How To Be an Anglican’ by the British former Dean of Philadelphia Cathedral, Richard Giles. It’s quite a long passage (and I’ve trimmed it slightly) but is worth it, I think – and it sums up so well my own feelings today.

Giles writes:

The churches of the Anglican communion often appear to exist chiefly for the purpose of keeping God amused, and indeed that’s no mean calling. It is truly a wonderful, and sometimes comical, creation; a church quite unlike any other, which defies most attempts to classify or tame it, but which is all the stronger for not taking itself too seriously. Certainly it will drive you mad at times, for it lacks the machinery necessary for imposing the party line, and has neither the ruthlessness to expel the intruder nor the earnestness always to get off its backside as quickly as it should. If you persevere you will become exasperated and sometimes angry. You will not find in Anglicanism a structure of cast-iron certainties bolted securely one on top of the other, but neither will you have to suspend your rational thought-processes upon entering our doors.

You will find in Anglican tradition a consistent, holistic approach in which faith is not holed up in a separate ‘religious’ compartment but is part of life. It offers no safe havens or cocoons in which we can evade the piercing eyes of the same Jesus who only had to look at Peter to say all there was to be said. ….. So if you are in the mood for an adventure, and can cope with a degree of uncertainty along the way, able to enjoy the journeying as much as the arriving, then read on.’

How To Be an Anglican, Richard Giles, Canterbury Press 2003

I recommend that you do. And so, Alde Sandlings Benefice, journey on – grow together in love and faith, be ready to laugh and cry together. God has great plans for you. Keep on listening in prayer for what they might be – and then go for it.

Returning to that injunction in a pulpit – What am I (what is God) trying to do to these people? Answer – love them – because God is love. Know that you are loved.

Amen

 

Post Communion
Lord God, the source of truth and love,
keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
united in prayer and the breaking of bread,
and one in joy and simplicity of heart,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mark’s Farewell Benefice Holy Communion Service
29^th August 2021

Last Sunday we said farewell to our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther, and boy did we do him proud! Congregation members from all four churches within the Alde Sandlings Benefice joined together at Aldeburgh Parish Church for the most wonderful Holy Communion Service.

The real treat was to hear the Benefice singers. Alan Bullard had somehow pulled together twenty-four choir members within the Benefice and not only conducted and led the choir, but also wrote two pieces of music especially for this service. So, thank you Alan, and of course Andrew Gosden (organist), and the Benefice Singers for all your work in really making this service extra special. We do hope we can repeat this sooner rather than later.

After the final hymn Revd Johanna Mabey presented Mark with a gift from all the elders, clergy, and Claire in the form of a framed word art gift. We had all put our heads together to put forward words and phrases that best expressed our time with Mark, with some giggles. Then a book was presented, that Revd Jo had asked many people to sign with their best wishes for Mark & Ro as they begin their retirement. Revd James Marston then announced that in the best Anglicans traditions, we’ve had a ‘whip round’ and Mark was then handed a cheque. Coco (the spaniel) was also given a gift of course.

Here are a few photos from the day, which includes the beautifully designed retirement cake baked by Fran Smith, which was presented to Mark & Ro in the Church Hall.

WE WISH YOU BOTH A VERY HAPPY RETIREMENT MARK & RO (& COCO)

WE REALLY WILL MISS YOU

 

A message from the now retired Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

A short note to say an enormous thank-you to everyone involved in making last Sunday morning so memorable for me, and for Ro. To be honest I’m still processing it all but every time I think back on it, I can’t help smiling to myself. It was so good to have folk from all of the parishes worshipping together, singing together, praying together – a joy. And then there were the gifts. The ‘picture of words’ is just wonderful and each time I look at it I see something new. The collection was so generous, and I promise that we will buy something very special with it to remember the Alde Sandlings by. The things that you all wrote in my leaving book are very moving and it’s particularly good to have the messages from the children at Aldeburgh Primary School. Finally, thanks to the caterers for the wonderful spread in the Church Hall afterwards – with a special mention to Fran for an amazing cake! It must have taken ages to do and I’m so glad to have photos of it before we all tucked in.

It has been a privilege to be your Priest-in-Charge / Rector for the last six years and you will always be in my prayers. And now – look after James and the team (because I know they will look after you) and I pray that someone will be appointed to the Alde Sandlings Benefice who will enjoy being here as much as I have done.

With every blessing, and my love

Mark

Alan Bullard Weekly Online Hymns  Since the lockdown started Alan has recorded over 200 hymns which are available each week to view online. These have been very popular amongst other churches. If you would like to receive these each week, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and we will pass this onto Alan. Here is the link to this week’s hymn, which is Amazing Grace (you don’t need to sign into anything, just press play) and Alan’s website for your information. https://1drv.ms/v/s!AtEyLDlEdaeJhMkh0k-ed6IfWL0-pg Website www.alanbullard.co.uk

Next week –
Sunday 12^th September
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

NOTICES

✞ Pilgrims Together return on Wednesdays ✞ The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. You are all more than welcome to join them via Zoom.   The worship starts at 6.30pm (Zoom call opens from 6.10pm) and the call is then left open after the worship time for people to catch up.  The worship is about 30 minutes long.  We have a different worship sheet each week which goes out on a Monday ahead of the Wednesday.   People are more than welcome to email pilgrimstogether473@gmail.com  to receive a copy or be added to our mailing list. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the links

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

✟ Aldringham Outdoor Services ✟ The services start at 11am, in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout September. ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/  01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

Friston Ride and Stride Information Ian & Mary Cycle to Raise Awareness of the Energy Projects Ian & Mary Shipman of Friston have raised around £16,000 over 25 years for the Trust, which exists to support the preservation of our valuable Heritage Churches within the county of Suffolk. This year they plan to cycle to 21 churches to raise awareness of the scale and extent of the various energy projects which threaten this area of East Suffolk and the Heritage Coast. The map shows the huge spread of the impacts of the projects on our countryside and communities. Ian & Mary will be cycling 30 miles to visit churches across 16 towns and villages – a challenge but demonstrates the enormity of the energy projects. These are:- Sizewell C the tentacles of which spread from Darsham to Wickham Market Scottish Power Renewables/National Grid with three substations and ancillary equipment covering 32 acres and taking 100 acres out of arable use in Friston alone, plus 9 kilometres of cable routes, 70 metres wide from Thorpeness, via Sizewell and inland to Friston. National Grid Ventures’ proposal to locate the substation for its Nautilus interconnector and cable corridor within the same area, to be connected to the new National Grid substation in Friston. Another planned interconnector Eurolink is also in the pipeline. If approved, the construction of these projects will extend over 12 years causing major disruption to residents and visitors, threatening the tourist economy, closing footpaths, and causing environmental damage. Our churches will also bear the brunt of this, with Friston Church being less than 250M from the substation site and threatening the peace and tranquillity of the Churchyard and Church itself. The route will be a physical challenge for Mary on her “sit-up and beg” bike while Ian, despite his age, still enjoying the adrenaline of a racing bike! Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if you would like to donate. Alternatively online donations may be made on the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/St-Mary-Friston

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day. WE OF COURSE NEED OUR TEAMS TO BE SPONSORED, so please do sponsor if you can. At Aldeburgh there is Adrian and Jill Brown; Richard and Emily Rapior; Mary Sidwell; Ed Wilhelm (Bellringer); Fran Smith (recorder). Aldeburgh also needs people to sit with Fran throughout the day, 9am to 5pm, to help with recording, in 1 or 2 hour stints. If you would like to take part, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see the organiser at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham, Simon Ive, Friston) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details.

The Return of Our Messy Church Services We are delighted to be re-starting our much loved Messy Church Services with Harvest Messy Church on Saturday 18th September 2021 in the Church Hall 10am to 12noon. Children of any age, parents, and grandparents are all welcome. No Charge. A fun morning of crafts, bread making, singing, games and prayer… If you would like to book a place, Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk HELPERS NEEDED FOR THIS VERY VALUABLE MINISTRY. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV. JO! Another date for your diary: Christmas Messy Church on Saturday 11th December at  The Fairfield Centre 10am to 12 noon AGAIN, HELPERS ARE NEEDED… PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV JO!

✞ Compline on Zoom ✞ Compline online services are every Wednesday at 6pm. All are very welcome. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the links

Benefice Fun Day The second Alde Sandlings Fun Day took place last Friday (27th) at Aldeburgh Parish Church. It was an absolute delight to see so many visitors and friends come to join us all. A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who contributed with the donations, baking, helping on the day, and of course the BBQ. The total monies collected on all the stalls was £1,186.08, giving a grand total of £2,061.72 for both weeks. WELL DONE EVERYONE

✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ There are many online services you can view from the Church of England and our cathedral. Here are some links below. Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/church-online/weekly-online-services Church of England Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland/ Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC LecK8GovYoaYzIgyOElKZg St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/stedscathedral

Message from our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

The Vicarage is even more untidy than usual, with piles of things heading for charity shops, recycling, suitcases, or the dustbin. The car has gained a large roof-box. And I have a piece of paper, signed by Bishop Martin, headed ‘Alde Sandlings Benefice’, that says that I ‘resign irrevocably the said benefice from the First day of September 2021’. We’re off! Well actually, though I cease to be the incumbent from next Wednesday, Rosemary and I (and Coco the Spaniel) will be around until September 29^th when, all being well, we head off for our ‘gap year’ in France.

I have a lot of people to thank and will do so at various appropriate times. This, though, is my last online pew-sheet and the person I would like to thank here is the one who has made sure that this document reaches you each Saturday morning, at 10.00 precisely, and contains all of the necessary information, readings, etc etc. Claire Turner has been one of my closest colleagues for most of the time that I have been here, and I can honestly say that I could not have done what I have done without her. She has known just the right time to badger me for ‘stuff’, been properly insistent when she needs something from me, always been available for help and advice, and done everything with the most wonderful willingness and humour – we have laughed a great deal! I know that she and James are looking forward to working together during the vacancy – they make a great team. Please do look after Claire – she plays such a vital part in what we do. Every church should have one!

I’ll try my best to record Sunday morning’s service for the Youtube channel. It will be a bit trickier than usual, and I will have to put the camera further back than is ideal but will give it a go – just in case you are unable to be with us.

It has been the most extraordinary privilege to be the incumbent of, first, Aldeburgh and The Whinlands and then the Alde Sandlings Benefice for the last six years. I will take away so many happy memories of people, places, and occasions. Our journeys in faith, and with God, continue and my prayer is that a new incumbent will be appointed who will travel with you, grow alongside you, help you to realise ambitions – and have at least as much fun as I have had! And in the meantime, I know that the churches are in safe hands with James as Curate-in-Charge. Please look after him too – he’ll need and appreciate your love and your prayers. But (as I said last week) I predict that you and he really will be able to go places together and will enjoy the journey.

With my love and prayers, as ever

Mark

Collect
Almighty God, who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Deuteronomy 4.1-2, 6-9
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

Second Reading
James 1.17-end
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. 

Gospel Reading
Mark 7.1-8,14,15,21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honour me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’ 

 

Sermon for 29^th August – Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd James Marston

Ephesians 6.10-20

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

I often wonder how we would react if we turned on the television, stuffed full of turkey and mince pies, to watch the gracious address by Her Majesty on Christmas day afternoon and it started with the words “What a year I’ve had.”

This year she’s lost her husband and has quite a few family troubles. Fodder, you might call it, for the commentators and column inches serving the public’s appetite for gossip and opinion passing.

In the Book of Common Prayer we pray to God to replenish her with grace, so that she may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way.

We also ask she is endued plenteously with heavenly gifts; and grant her in health and wealth long to live. It might seem odd to us with our 21^st century understanding of wealth to pray for an increase in income of a fairly rich lady but back in 1662 wealth meant something a little different.

The word wealth comes from the old English ‘weal’, which means ‘wealth, welfare, and wellbeing’. Weal is in turn related to the older word ‘wel’, meaning ‘in a state of good fortune, welfare, or happiness. We aren’t praying for a new royal yacht to rule the waves and promote our nation on the global stage – though personally I’d have no problem with that – instead we are really petitioning God to look after her and keep her close. It can’t be easy being her, but she’s made no secret of her sustaining faith, her life of prayer, her trust in the almighty – we know she knows who’s minister she is. She’s also the governor and exemplar of our church, it is to her I swore my ordination oath of obedience.

But keeping our eyes on God is not always easy. The Queen has, in her well documented and long life, gone through the ups and downs of life just as we all do.

Today’s epistle reading – the exhortation to put on the armour of God – is one which Christians turn to again and again. It is St Paul’s extended metaphor on how to survive when we live through difficult times. Times when all seems hopeless and lost, times we’d rather not live through.

St Paul was writing to a small community, a minority community of believers that stood alone in a world of non-believers, a community that needed encouragement to carry on.

For the Ephesians, no matter what hostility is displayed by their fellow townfolk, they are to understand that hostility as emanating from larger, darker, spiritual forces. Such forces cannot be fought by the believers themselves, but are rather to be resisted by faith, prayer and turning together to God.

However, donning of the armour of God on our part does not create us an impenetrable community who does not hear the cries of others. It does however, encourage a boldness in our witness to Christ, a confidence in the power of prayer, a corporate resistance to forces we cannot see and therefore so often dismiss as irrelevant or non-existent.

A final thought: Christian communities like ours are, I believe the lucky ones, we have faith to guide and steer us through the fog of life, thanks to the armour of God we are girded in truth, faith, peace, the Spirit through the word and eucharist, and in prayer for our defense and strength.

Amen.

Post Communion
God our creator, you feed your children with the true manna,
the living bread from heaven: let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage until we come to that place where hunger and thirst are no more; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Mark’s Suffolk Summer Farewell Concert – 22^nd August

We started Aldeburgh’s contribution in saying farewell to our Mark last Sunday. The concert began with Revd Jo introducing the concert team, and then handed over to the organiser Geoff Lavery who led the concert.

It was a truly wonderful concert, with Geoff Lavery on piano, Mark Pulman on piano and organ, Linda Lavery on recorder, Sarah Gallop, Soprano, and the Kingfisher quartet, Beth, Isobel, Yan Li and Chris. As Mark said when the concert finished – WOW. Wow indeed. Thank you so much to all the musicians that made the afternoon so special. It will be an afternoon that I am sure many of us will remember fondly.

We then made our way to the Church Hall for tea and cake. Thank you to all our bakers and helpers that really did put on a rather delicious selection of cakes. How lucky are we to be blessed with such talented bakers!

NOTICES

Pilgrims Together return on Wednesdays The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. You are all more than welcome to join them via Zoom.   The worship starts at 6.30pm (Zoom call opens from 6.10pm) and the call is then left open after the worship time for people to catch up.  The worship is about 30 minutes long.  We have a different worship sheet each week which goes out on a Monday ahead of the Wednesday.   People are more than welcome to email pilgrimstogether473@gmail.com  to receive a copy or be added to our mailing list. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the link

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

Aldringham Outdoor Services The services start at 11am (not 29th) in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout August and September. ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/  01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

Friston Ride and Stride Information Ian & Mary Cycle to Raise Awareness of the Energy Projects Ian & Mary Shipman of Friston have raised around £16,000 over 25 years for the Trust, which exists to support the preservation of our valuable Heritage Churches within the county of Suffolk. This year they plan to cycle to 21 churches to raise awareness of the scale and extent of the various energy projects which threaten this area of East Suffolk and the Heritage Coast. The map shows the huge spread of the impacts of the projects on our countryside and communities. Ian & Mary will be cycling 30 miles to visit churches across 16 towns and villages – a challenge but demonstrates the enormity of the energy projects. These are:- Sizewell C the tentacles of which spread from Darsham to Wickham Market Scottish Power Renewables/National Grid with three substations and ancillary equipment covering 32 acres and taking 100 acres out of arable use in Friston alone, plus 9 kilometres of cable routes, 70 metres wide from Thorpeness, via Sizewell and inland to Friston. National Grid Ventures’ proposal to locate the substation for its Nautilus interconnector and cable corridor within the same area, to be connected to the new National Grid substation in Friston. Another planned interconnector Eurolink is also in the pipeline. If approved, the construction of these projects will extend over 12 years causing major disruption to residents and visitors, threatening the tourist economy, closing footpaths, and causing environmental damage. Our churches will also bear the brunt of this, with Friston Church being less than 250M from the substation site and threatening the peace and tranquillity of the Churchyard and Church itself. The route will be a physical challenge for Mary on her “sit-up and beg” bike while Ian, despite his age, still enjoying the adrenaline of a racing bike! If you would like to support Ian & Mary, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk. Alternatively online donations may be made on the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/St-Mary-Friston

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day, or of course, you might like to sponsor one of the team, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see the organiser at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham, Simon Ive, Friston) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details.

The Return of Our Messy Church Services We are delighted to be re-starting our much loved Messy Church Services with Harvest Messy Church on Saturday 18th September 2021 in the Church Hall 10am to 12noon. Children of any age, parents, and grandparents are all welcome. No Charge. A fun morning of crafts, bread making, singing, games and prayer… If you would like to book a place, please contact Revd. Jo via email: admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk HELPERS NEEDED FOR THIS VERY VALUABLE MINISTRY. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV. JO! Another date for your diary: Christmas Messy Church on Saturday 11th December at  The Fairfield Centre 10am to 12 noon AGAIN, HELPERS ARE NEEDED… PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH REV. JO!

✞ Friston Compline on Zoom ✞ St Mary’s Compline online services are every Wednesday at 6pm. All are very welcome. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the links

Next week –
Sunday 5^th September
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

Message from our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

I can’t quite believe that this will be my penultimate ‘pew-sheet top’
(as Claire and I call it). My diary is full of final things – last services in particular churches, last PCC meetings etc etc. But I’ll restrain myself from any farewell thoughts for now and concentrate on looking forward. From the conversations that I have already heard I know that, during the vacancy, our benefice is going to be in safe hands. James will be ‘curate-in-charge’ and I know that he already has plenty of plans forming for the upcoming major occasions in the church diary – from Harvest Festival, via Remembrance Sunday to Advent and Christmas. But he can only do what needs doing with your support and I would ask that you give him that support generously. If you do, I predict that, together, you will really be able to go places.

A final plug for the second and last of the Aldeburgh Friday Markets – August 27^th from 10 until 2, with a delicious barbeque available from Midday. At the previous market, on the 13^th, it was so good to see representatives from the Friends of Aldringham Church and St Lawrence’s, Knodishall running their own stalls and making some money for their own churches. And, though it was quite unlike any Friday Market we have held before, fun was had, and good conversation enjoyed. A huge thank-you to the organising team, who have dealt so well with the challenges of recent months – and please do come and enjoy all that will be on offer on Friday.

With my love and prayers, as ever

Mark

 

Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18
Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.  And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. ‘Now therefore revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’

Second Reading
Ephesians 6.10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. 

Gospel Reading
John 6.56-69
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.  Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Sermon for 22^nd August – Twelfth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd James Marston

Luke 1 46 -55

Today, in our gospel reading, we have just heard Mary’s song of praise – known as the magnifcat – one of the most well-known songs in the Christian tradition, one of the ancient hymns of the faith.

Perhaps time and repetition can dull our senses and it is perhaps a bit too easy to think the mag – as it is known in churchy circles – is simply that bit we say between the readings at evening prayer. But in fact, it is an extraordinary statement and outburst of praise – often reflected in the power of its musical settings.

In this statement, Mary, gives a hint of the gospel before the gospel is written. She outlines the revolutionary message that Jesus’ life death resurrection and ascension actually mean – the lifting up of the lowly, the subjugation of pride, the feeding of the hungry; trusting in great mercy of God rather than in money and wealth.

Thus, the magnificat is also a world changing statement of faith, indeed an early manifesto of Christianity that reflects and heralds the victory of the resurrection long before it actually happens.

And above all, the magnifcat sets the tone for the entire Gospel – because the child Mary bears is bringing something so different, so radical, so life changing, that she’ll be blessed by generations to come. God has looked on her with great favour, even though she’s just a lowly handmaiden.

And there’s more. The Song of Mary is also deeply imbued with Old Testament quotations, verses Mary would have known since childhood. Verses that pointed towards a saviour of the world who would be the fulfilment of ancient prophesies. Mary is not only expressing what is to come but she is also proclaiming what has been spoken about for centuries – the ancient prophesies were true after all.

But the story behind the story, it seems to me, is perhaps something far simpler – that of a mother to be excited about the baby that is to come and sharing that delight with those around her.

And the excitement and joy that Mary experiences flows out off her in an expression of spontaneous gratitude to God. It is a response of worship. Mary is expressing her faith with such confidence her words have been repeated and cherished, set to music and remembered for centuries. Mary is also saying yes to God’s service with deep joy and willingness of heart.

And I think it is from this confidence and this joy that we can draw hope and inspiration.

It seems to me that much of the times we are living through has revolved around a surfeit of insecurity and quite a big dose of fear.

We must be careful not let fear rule and manage our lives. As Christians we are peddlers of a message of hope, as a congregation we are a beacon in our community of confidence in God.

The Song of Mary is a confident expression of hope – that God is here, and he is with us. As a Christian community, the body of Christ in this place, we are called to share the confidence of our faith with the wider community.

This week our Friday markets – and I managed to pick up a nice selection of cheese scones and sausage rolls – showed once again our visible engagement with the community in which we live.

We not only brought the benefice together in relationship and fellowship but showed Aldeburgh and those among whom we live that we are still here, still keeping the faith, still bearers of hope. May we continue to grow in that confidence in the coming weeks and months.

And we are also called, like Mary, to say yes to God with a willing heart and to praise and worship God in thanks and gratitude –it is no coincidence that the theology of Holy Communion service has thanksgiving at its root.

Today as we come together to pray, give thanks, and encourage one another, let us be renewed in our faith, thankful for all we have and all we are, let us say yes to God once again and go out into the world to celebrate in our lives and in all we do, the extraordinary saviour Mary bore.

Amen.

Post Communion
God of all mercy, in this eucharist you have set aside our sins
and given us your healing:
grant that we who are made whole in Christ
may bring that healing to this broken world,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

NOTICES

Mark’s Retirement – UPDATED A huge thank you to all those who have been in contact to reserve seating for the concert and benefice service for Mark’s retirement farewell events. This has been a huge help to let us know your wishes regarding being seated socially distanced, or not. The main objective was to make sure that EVERYONE is comfortable and feels happy when attending a large gathering in one building. We are now fully booked for the Holy Communion Service. A BIG THANK YOU to Ken Smith for arranging the seating plans. No small task. We support the government and Church of England guidance and “expect and recommend” people to wear a mask during the concert and the service.

Tuesday Coffee Morning with Mark & Friends Our LAST Zoom coffee morning with Mark, will be from 10.30am – 11.30am on Tuesday. All are very welcome. Grab your favourite morning beverage and let’s have a good ole chat. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the link

Pilgrims Together The Pilgrim’s will be taking an August break from the Wednesday evening Zoom gatherings. They will be returning on Wednesday 1st September. They continue to worship by The Meare at Thorpeness, this being the last of the summer services this Sunday 22nd at 9.30am. ALL VERY WELCOME

Aldringham Outdoor Services The services start at 11am in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout August and September. ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/  01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

Friston Compline on Zoom St Mary’s Compline online services are every Wednesday at 6pm. All are very welcome. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for the link

Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Day in August The next Friday Market is August 27th 10am – 2pm The stalls are as follows: BBQ, Vegetables, Plants, Fruit and Flowers, Cakes and Savouries, Jams etc, Craft Stalls, General Bric a Brac. Tombola and Games. All the churches in the Alde Sandlings are invited to have their chosen stalls to raise much depleted funds for the churches. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if any church members of the Alde Sandlings Benefice would like to have a stall. Congratulations to the two people that were the closest on guessing how many sweets were in the jar (54) on the first Friday market. A big THANK YOU to all those who guessed. WANTED for Friday Markets  CAKES, SAVOURIES, JAMS, PRESERVES, PRODUCE, PLANTS, GOOD QUALITY BRIC A BRAC, JEWELLERY, SCARVES, HANDBAGS, CRAFTS, GIFT ITEMS Items can be taken to the Church Hall after 4pm on Thursday before the market, or the morning of market.

Friston Ride and Stride Information Ian & Mary Cycle to Raise Awareness of the Energy Projects Ian & Mary Shipman of Friston have raised around £16,000 over 25 years for the Trust, which exists to support the preservation of our valuable Heritage Churches within the county of Suffolk. This year they plan to cycle to 21 churches to raise awareness of the scale and extent of the various energy projects which threaten this area of East Suffolk and the Heritage Coast. The map shows the huge spread of the impacts of the projects on our countryside and communities. Ian & Mary will be cycling 30 miles to visit churches across 16 towns and villages – a challenge but demonstrates the enormity of the energy projects. These are:- Sizewell C the tentacles of which spread from Darsham to Wickham Market Scottish Power Renewables/National Grid with three substations and ancillary equipment covering 32 acres and taking 100 acres out of arable use in Friston alone, plus 9 kilometres of cable routes, 70 metres wide from Thorpeness, via Sizewell and inland to Friston. National Grid Ventures’ proposal to locate the substation for its Nautilus interconnector and cable corridor within the same area, to be connected to the new National Grid substation in Friston. Another planned interconnector Eurolink is also in the pipeline. If approved, the construction of these projects will extend over 12 years causing major disruption to residents and visitors, threatening the tourist economy, closing footpaths, and causing environmental damage. Our churches will also bear the brunt of this, with Friston Church being less than 250M from the substation site and threatening the peace and tranquillity of the Churchyard and Church itself. The route will be a physical challenge for Mary on her “sit-up and beg” bike while Ian, despite his age, still enjoying the adrenaline of a racing bike! If you would like to support Ian & Mary, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk. Alternatively online donations may be made on the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/St-Mary-Friston

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day, or of course, you might like to sponsor one of the team, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see the organiser at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham, Simon Ive, Friston) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details.

Next week – Sunday 29^th August
Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Mark’s last service will be on Sunday 29th August at 10.30am at Aldeburgh Parish Church. This will be a Benefice Holy Communion Service. We thank everyone that has been in touch to reserve seating, stating whether they wish to be socially distanced or not. This has helped us hugely knowing your preferences, that you feel happy and comforatble in attending a large gathering within a building. We now wish to advise that we are fully booked for this service.

Message from our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

I received a very thoughtful email the other day from Aldeburgh’s churchwarden, Ken Smith. I’d like to share it with you and ask for your thoughts and comments. Ken says:

Having worked in clinical pathology for over 20 years and during that time having considerable training in infection control, I think that I need to express my concerns regarding the potential risk of health presented by the communion cup and COVID-19. There appears to be a growing belief that being double vaccinated leads to complete immunity. Double vaccination is greater than 90% effective at preventing a serious illness but is less effective at preventing infection or transmission. Breakthrough infections (people infected after immunization) will lead to fully vaccinated people being infected and able to infect others. Latest figures show that there is a greater chance of breakthrough infections in those aged 65 or older. These breakthrough infections are more frequent than initially expected and is suggested to be due to the dominance of the Delta variant. We know that with more covid virus transmissions, more variants will develop.

It is known that COVID-19 virus is found in saliva, this being a reason that taste is affected during infection. Knowing the virus is found in saliva, I find it difficult to understand why one would take all other precautions to prevent spread of COVID-19 and then drink from a common cup. The latest guidance from the Church of England specifically states: ‘Careful consideration needs to be given to the question of whether the sacrament should be administered in one kind or in both kinds, given the continued potential for risks to health posed by the common cup.’ The church therefore acknowledges that there is a potential risk of contracting or transmitting the virus from the communion cup.

Without the ability to sterilise the cup or contents between communicants, it is both possible and probable that anyone carrying COVID-19 can spread the virus to anyone drinking from the cup afterwards. Although the cup is wiped with a purificator and rotated between communicants neither of these are effective in destroying any virus on or in the cup.

With this knowledge, I ask if offering the cup is appropriate. At minimum, I believe that we should inform communicants of the real possibility of transmitting or contracting the virus in sharing the cup, even if they have been vaccinated. The only alternative to sharing the cup I can offer is the receiving of Communion by Simultaneous Administration. This offers a method which reduces but does not eliminate the health risks.

Knowing the workload and stress our doctors and health care workers are under, we need to continually examine what we can do to protect ourselves and others so as not to place any additional pressure on the NHS. The massive backlog of patients awaiting treatment continues to grow.

So, we need to make a decision. Should we continue to offer the chalice, albeit with the warning that Ken suggests, or should we, for the time being, revert to offering Holy Communion in one kind only – ie just bread? There is no easy answer here. We, of course, want to offer both bread and wine as soon as we can. But we also have a responsibility to play our part in keeping folk safe. But should we leave it to individuals to make the decision for themselves? The ‘Simultaneous Administration’ that Ken mentions is when the priest swiftly dips a communion wafer in the wine and then places it on the recipient’s hand. Possible but tricky. And ‘intinction’ – when the recipient dips their own wafer into the chalice is actively discouraged. Please do let me know your thoughts – and, for this weekend, at Holy Communion services in Aldringham and Friston, we will revert to administration in one kind only.

A quick reminder that we have the second of our Friston Sunday afternoon concerts by members of the Kingfisher Ensemble at 4pm – hopefully outdoors. And may I draw your attention to the notice further down this document about our Benefice service in Aldeburgh church on August 29^th. We really do need to know if you intend coming so that we can make suitable seating arrangements in the church. Claire or Ken look forward to hearing from you!

With my love and prayers, as ever

Mark

 

Collect
Almighty God, who looked upon the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and chose her to be the mother of your only Son:
grant that we who are redeemed by his blood
may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Isaiah 61.10-end
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations. 

Second Reading
Galatians 4.4-7
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Gospel Reading
Luke 1.46-55
And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Sermon for 15^th August – Eleventh Sunday after Trinity,
by our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

1 Kings 19: 4-8

Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2

John 6: 35, 41-51

Something you probably thought you’d never hear at the start of a sermon – a quote from a book called ‘Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation’.

The value of any item of evidence to a criminal investigation – such as an apparently unimportant object of fact – may turn out to be extremely important later in the investigation. No item, however small, should be overlooked.

And those of us who read crime fiction or watch dramatizations of it on television know that the plots of good stories often hinge on something that when it was first mentioned seemed irrelevant. We, like the crime scene investigators and the detectives, need to learn how to look for the clues.

Reading John’s gospel is a long way from reading a crime novel but it’s such a rich text, so full of poetry and metaphor, that it’s sometimes difficult to grasp what are the most important events and what they truly mean. Three weeks ago our Gospel reading was John’s version of the story of the feeding of the 5 000 – a story that is so familiar that the heart of its meaning can be missed all too easily – just as it was missed by so many of those present at the event itself. In the verses that follow the story Jesus has to explain to his friends and followers that what happened on that momentous occasion was a great deal more than met the eye. And that’s the context of today’s gospel reading – in which, once again, Jesus identifies himself as the bread of life – the food that will sustain us if we believe and trust. And will sustain us in a way far beyond ordinary food. This is the living bread that comes from heaven. Richer, even , than the bread that sustained Elijah in the story we heard from the Old Testament.

In a homily on this same gospel reading written over 1500 years ago St Augustine of Hippo wrote this, beginning with a quotation from today’s gospel:

‘I am the living bread which comes down from heaven’. It is ‘living’ because it was Jesus who came down from heaven. The manna also came down from heaven but the manna was only a shadow, this is a reality. Those who heard were terrified at this. It was too much for them, they thought it was impossible. But believers know they are the body of Christ, provided they do not neglect to be the body of Christ.

One must be the body of Christ, if one is to live by the spirit of Christ. So whoever wants to live must live as part of the body.’

Jesus is trying to explain this to his puzzled disciples – that the fact that they were able to leave that mountainside fed and satisfied by something that initially looked insufficient and insubstantial is a sign – a metaphor for something that is truly the heart of the matter. In fact it’s what we’d call a sacrament – defined by that same St Augustine as ‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.’ And in a few minutes time we will once again share in the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood – the outward and visible sign of God’s overwhelming love for us. The bread that we break and share is, in some amazing and mysterious way, Christ’s body, broken for us. It has, as the Eucharistic Prayer puts it, it has become, for us, the body of Christ. And that bread, that body, feeds us and sustains us just as Jesus said it would.

Next week we read the verses that follow today’s gospel reading, verses in which Jesus takes the explanation of his body and blood being food and drink for us a step further. The 10.30 service at which we’ll read those words will, in fact, be a service of Morning Prayer, not Holy Communion, so it’s worth just touching on what they tell us as we prepare to receive the sacrament of Hoy Communion this morning. Once again the people don’t understand – ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat’? they say. And Jesus, teaching in the synagogue, replies ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. …. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink ….. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.’ Beautiful but difficult words – because the wrong picture can all too easily come into our minds. But in his brilliant book ‘Unapologetic’, Francis Spufford reminds us of the centrality of Holy Communion – it’s what the church is for, he says. (And I apologise if you have been online and heard the sermon that I preached last week in Friston because I used the same quotation.)

‘Forget about saints, popes, bishops, monks, nuns, processions, statues, music, art, architecture, vicarage tea parties, speaking in tongues, special hats. All of that stuff can be functional in its time and its place, can do things sometimes to inch forward the work of love, but it’s all secondary, it’s all flummery, it’s all essentially decorative compared to this. We eat the bread, we drink the wine. We feel ourselves forgiven. And, feeling that, we turn from the table to try to love the world, and ourselves, and each other.’

In other words, we try to be what Paul calls us to be in his letter to the Ephesians. ‘Be imitators of God’, Paul wrote, ‘as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.’

Some ancient Latin words about Holy Communion that have often been set to music – ‘O sacrum convivium’.

O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received,
The offering of his Passion is renewed,
The mind is filled with grace,
And a promise of future glory is given to us

May it be so for us all today.

Amen

 

Post Communion

God most high, whose handmaid bore the Word made flesh:
we thank you that in this sacrament of our redemption
you visit us with your Holy Spirit
and overshadow us by your power;
strengthen us to walk with Mary the joyful path of obedience
and so to bring forth the fruits of holiness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Next week

Sunday 22^nd August
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

NOTICES

Mark’s Retirement – UPDATED As we all know, we will be saying a very sad farewell to our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther at the end of August, as he starts his retirement.  All the churches in the Benefice are arranging last services etc for Mark, which I am sure the church you worship at has informed you.  At Aldeburgh we are having a  Summer Suffolk Farewell Concert, with Geoff Lavery, and friends performing on the 22nd August 3-4pm, followed by tea and cake in the Church Hall.  On the 29th August, we are having a Benefice Holy Communion Service.  UPDATE We are offering designated seating, both socially distanced and non-socially distanced for the concert and the Benefice Holy Communion Service. If you wish to attend the concert or the benefice service, please contact Claire at admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk or churchwarden Ken Smith and let us know how many will be in your party and if you wish socially distanced seating. We support the government and Church of England guidance and “expect and recommend” people to wear a mask during the concert and the service.

Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Day in August The next Friday Market is August 27th 10am – 2pm. The proposed stalls are as follows: BBQ, Vegetables, Plants, Fruit and Flowers, Cakes and Savouries, Jams etc, Craft Stalls, General Bric a Brac. Tombola and Games. All the churches in the Alde Sandlings are invited to have their chosen stalls to raise much depleted funds for the churches. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if any church members of the Alde Sandlings Benefice would like to have a stall. EVERYONE WELCOME WANTED for Friday Markets  CAKES, SAVOURIES, JAMS, PRESERVES, PRODUCE, PLANTS, GOOD QUALITY BRIC A BRAC, JEWELLERY, SCARVES, HANDBAGS, CRAFTS, GIFT ITEMS Items can be taken to the Church Hall after 4pm on Thursday before the market, or the morning of market.

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

✟ Aldringham Outdoor Services ✟ The services start at 11am in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout August and September. ALL VERY WELCOME

U Food Banks at the East of England Co-op U Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/ By clicking on the food bank’s name, you can also find out where to drop off your donations. If you would prefer to make a financial donation, then please visit the food bank’s website (under ‘Give help’) or you can donate to the Trussell Trust centrally by contacting our Supporter Care team on 01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

✞ Pilgrims Together ✞ The Pilgrim’s will be taking an August break from the Wednesday evening Zoom gatherings. They will be returning on Wednesday 1st September. They continue to worship by The Meare at Thorpeness every Sunday in August. See poster in this newsletter for more information.

Tuesday Coffee Morning with Mark & Friends Our final two Zoom coffee mornings with Mark will be from 10.30am – 11.30am every Tuesday. All are very welcome. Grab your favourite morning beverage and let’s have a good ole chat. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk

Friston Ride and Stride Information Ian & Mary Cycle to Raise Awareness of the Energy Projects Ian & Mary Shipman of Friston have raised around £16,000 over 25 years for the Trust, which exists to support the preservation of our valuable Heritage Churches within the county of Suffolk. This year they plan to cycle to 21 churches to raise awareness of the scale and extent of the various energy projects which threaten this area of East Suffolk and the Heritage Coast. Ian & Mary will be cycling 30 miles to visit churches across 16 towns and villages – a challenge but demonstrates the enormity of the energy projects. These are:- Sizewell C the tentacles of which spread from Darsham to Wickham Market Scottish Power Renewables/National Grid with three substations and ancillary equipment covering 32 acres and taking 100 acres out of arable use in Friston alone, plus 9 kilometres of cable routes, 70 metres wide from Thorpeness, via Sizewell and inland to Friston. National Grid Ventures’ proposal to locate the substation for its Nautilus interconnector and cable corridor within the same area, to be connected to the new National Grid substation in Friston. Another planned interconnector Eurolink is also in the pipeline. If approved, the construction of these projects will extend over 12 years causing major disruption to residents and visitors, threatening the tourist economy, closing footpaths, and causing environmental damage. Our churches will also bear the brunt of this, with Friston Church being less than 250M from the substation site and threatening the peace and tranquillity of the Churchyard and Church itself. The route will be a physical challenge for Mary on her “sit-up and beg” bike while Ian, despite his age, still enjoying the adrenaline of a racing bike! If you would like to support Ian & Mary, please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day, or of course, you might like to sponsor one of the team, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see the organiser at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details.

Message from our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

I don’t always hear Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’, which usually pops up at around 7.50am, during the ‘Today’ programme, but I did catch it on Wednesday. It was given by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism in the UK. It was a particularly eloquent reflection on love – God’s love for us and our love for our neighbour. I suppose it struck home particularly powerfully because I have taken quite a few weddings recently and this week also has seen two rather special funerals. At all of them we spoke of love, God’s love for us all, the love of two human beings and the Christian belief that love overcomes death. One of the prayers in the wedding service speaks of how the couples’ love should ‘overflow to neighbours in need and embrace those in distress’. The funeral service reminds us that ‘all who have died in the love of Christ will share in his resurrection’. Rabbi Jonathan quotes a Rabbi from the 18^th-century who says ‘to make God’s everlasting love real is our responsibility’. And hearing St Paul’s famous words about love in his First Letter to the Corinthians being read at weddings and one of the funerals reminded me just how central to our faith our ideas of love are. I’ve attached the audio of Rabbi Jonathan’s talk to this pew-sheet and I commend it to you – it certainly spoke powerfully to me.

There are lots of good things coming up in the next few days but in particular I draw your attention to the concert in Friston churchyard on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, and the first of the two Friday Markets on August 13^th from 10.00 until 2.00. It is also good to welcome The Revd Bruce Gillingham back to Thorpeness and Aldeburgh this Sunday morning. Bruce and his family’s links with Thorpeness go back a very long way and he is always a welcome visitor. Prayers are already wafting heavenwards for fine weather for all of these events!

With my love and prayers, as ever

Mark

Collect
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
1 Kings 19.4-8
Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Second Reading
Ephesians 4.25-5.2
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Gospel Reading
John 6.35, 41-51
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

 

Sermon for 8^th August – Tenth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd Johanna Mabey

Bread of Life Reflection for Lammas Day (1^st August)

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, Ephesians 4.1-16, John 6.24-35

“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer.” 

Before we moved to Aldeburgh, many years ago, we used to live in a beautiful old Suffolk farmhouse near Sudbury which was surrounded by arable fields – in fact our two eldest children, George and James were both born there.

I still remember the heady aroma of gain on the cusp of ripening. This deep earthy fragrance held the promise of harvest. The first day of harvest was always exciting. For arable farmers, it’s the day when the crop yields its first grain, the culmination of a year’s work. My two boys were transfixed by the sight of the huge combine harvester rolling past the end of our garden – and our little George’s first word wasn’t ‘Mumma’, or ‘Dadda’, it was ‘Tractor’!!

On Lammas Day or Loaf Mass Day, we celebrate the first loaf of bread, made from the first wheat of harvest. In times past this first loaf of bread marked the end of eking out last year’s food supplies. There must have been a great temptation to devour the loaf in one hungry feast.

But on the first Sunday in August, the harvest workers would pause from their work to take this first loaf to church. It would be presented at the altar. They would give thanks to God for his provision. And then, accompanied by the words of Christ’s last Supper, the loaf would be blessed, broken and shared.

The first taste of the new bread would be at the Eucharistic feast. As well as the obvious spiritual connections there was something deeply practical about this.

The first loaf wasn’t consumed by just one hungry family, it was shared with everyone who gathered in church. Harvest was a time when communities needed to pull together, they needed to work together to gather the crops whilst the sun shone. The foundation for this was set in church at Lammas.

It began with them sharing and eating the first loaf together.

Our Lammas service today draws on all these traditions. When I raised our Lammas loaf at the altar, I knew I was raising something holy. This is bread that holds the potential to sustain us physically and spiritually.

It was in my hands due to the work and commitment of many other hands. These other hands drove tractors and combine harvesters, they typed on computer keyboards and phone keypads, they swiped multiple screens in high-tec cabs, they probably held furrowed foreheads as yet another unseasonal day of weather was forecast.

This has been a very challenging growing season. When we give thanks to God for this first-bread in our hands, we give thanks for all those who contributed to it, and that despite the set-backs, harvest is here.

The Lammas loaf symbolises the faith, trust and hope of many who work the land.

Harvest is a busy and pressured time for farmers. If you live a little further inland from here, you’ll hear the work of combining and corn-carting well into the night. It becomes an intense whirl of exhausting activity to produce our food.

As this whirl begins, Lammas enables us to press the pause button. As we pause for an hour this morning, we are invited to reflect on one simple loaf of bread.

The Lammas liturgy invites us to recognise that the God of creation

has been faithful to us. The land has yielded its harvest to sustain the people. The loaf is a symbol of God’s provision for us.

In blessing it we’re drawn into the holiness of the land and all that it can provide for us. It reminds us of the joy of being at one with creation, and the horror of being at odds with it.

The way we work the land and eat of its fruits, matters to God.

As Jesus demonstrated to a crowd of 5000, a humble loaf of local bread, blessed by God, is full of hope and potential.

I’m sure you remember that the lockdown saw a resurgence of home bread making. Our local millers saw a huge increase in demand for bread flour – and supplies ran out. Now that stocks are replenished, why not bake your own Lammas loaf?

As many monastic bakers can testify, the gentle rhythm of kneading lends itself to prayer.

And as you eat your piece of the Lammas loaf, pray that Christ, the bread of life makes his home in you, ensuring that you will never be hungry.

And as you delight in the taste of the first-bread, commit yourself to a greater awareness of the delights of inhabiting this world as

God’s co-worker in creation.

May you, with Him, bring a harvest of hope to the world.

Amen.

Lammas Loaf
baked by Sue Howcutt

 

Post Communion
God of our pilgrimage,
you have willed that the gate of mercy
should stand open for those who trust in you:
look upon us with your favour
that we who follow the path of your will
may never wander from the way of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Next week
Sunday 15^th August
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity/
The Blessed Virgin Mary

NOTICES

Mark’s Retirement UPDATED As we all know, we will be saying a very sad farewell to our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther at the end of August, as he starts his retirement.  All the churches in the Benefice are arranging last services etc for Mark, which I am sure the church you worship at has informed you.  At Aldeburgh we are having a  Summer Suffolk Farewell Concert, with Geoff Lavery, and friends performing on the 22nd August 3-4pm, followed by tea and cake in the Church Hall.  On the 29th August, we are having a Benefice Holy Communion Service.  UPDATE We are offering designated seating, both socially distanced and non-socially distanced for the concert and the Benefice Holy Communion Service. If you wish to attend the concert or the benefice service, please contact Claire at admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org or churchwarden Ken Smith and let us know how many will be in your party and if you wish socially distanced seating. We support the government and Church of England guidance and “expect and recommend” people to wear a mask during the concert and the service.

Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Days in August UPDATE – THE FIRST FRIDAY MARKET WILL NOW BE ON THE 13TH AUGUST not the 6th as previously advertised. As many of you know August is the month for Aldeburgh Church to host their Friday Markets. Unfortunately, last year was cancelled due to Covid. This year things are hugely better, but we still need to approach with caution. So, this August we will have two Friday markets on the 13th and 27th 10am – 2pm. The proposed stalls are as follows: BBQ, Vegetables, Plants, Fruit and Flowers, Cakes and Savouries, Jams etc, Craft Stalls, General Bric a Brac. Tombola and Games. All the churches in the Alde Sandlings are invited to have their chosen stalls to raise much depleted funds for the churches. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if any church members of the Alde Sandlings Benefice would like to have a stall. EVERYONE WELCOME WANTED for Friday Markets CAKES, SAVOURIES, JAMS, PRESERVES, PRODUCE, PLANTS, GOOD QUALITY BRIC A BRAC, JEWELLERY, SCARVES, HANDBAGS, CRAFTS, GIFT ITEMS Items can be taken to the Church Hall after 4pm on Thursday before the market, or the morning of market.

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

✟ Aldringham Outdoor Services ✟ The services start at 11am in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout July, August and September. August 8th will be the date for the annual Animal Service, 3pm in the churchyard.  We can’t guarantee that there will be no interruptions as the animals may have difficulty following the order of service but all animals, insects, etc. (and their owners) ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op  Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/ By clicking on the food bank’s name, you can also find out where to drop off your donations. If you would prefer to make a financial donation, then please visit the food bank’s website (under ‘Give help’) or you can donate to the Trussell Trust centrally by contacting our Supporter Care team on 01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

✞ Pilgrims Together ✞ The Pilgrim’s will be taking an August break from the Wednesday evening Zoom gatherings. They will be returning on Wednesday 1st September. They continue to worship by The Meare at Thorpeness every Sunday in August. See poster in this newsletter for more information.

Tuesday Coffee Morning with Mark & Friends Our regular Zoom coffee morning will be from 10.30am – 11.30am every Tuesday. All are very welcome. Grab your favourite morning beverage and let’s have a good ole chat. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk for more info

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day, or of course, you might like to sponsor one of the team, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see them at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details. More information from Friston and Knodishall next week.

Message from our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther

To begin with, a thank-you to those who responded to my requests for views in last week’s online pew-sheet. Bearing those in mind, we will gradually introduce some more singing into our indoor services, and we will also re-introduce the shared cup at Holy Communion services. For those who might still feel uncomfortable about receiving wine in that way, please be assured that if you only receive the bread and leave the communion rail before the wine is distributed you will still have ‘received communion’. Guidance from the national church makes it clear that ‘Because of ongoing potential risks to health, an individual communicant may choose to receive only in the form of bread even if the consecrated wine is being distributed’. We will, of course, take all of the usual precautions, keeping the rim of the chalice clean by wiping it with a laundered ‘purificator’ and rotating it between communicants. All should thus be well.

As you will see elsewhere in this pew-sheet we have taken the decision to postpone Aldeburgh’s first ‘Friday Market’ from next Friday (6^th) to the following Friday (13^th).

The organising team say:

Sadly, our dear Aldeburgh Church friend John Aitken has recently died, and his funeral has been arranged for Friday 6th August. So, we have decided to postpone the first market as a mark of respect for John, his family, and friends. There will be many people wanting to attend the funeral. The hearse, the funeral cortege to the graveyard and the Council grave diggers will all be using the car park, so we feel it is the right thing to postpone the market.

Thank-you, team, for your thoughtfulness – it is very much appreciated.

A reminder that this Sunday (1^st) afternoon in Aldeburgh church there will be two piano recitals, at 2pm and 4pm, across which Libby Burgess will play the second book of Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues. This is part of her extraordinary project to play ‘the 48’ in all 48 English counties. She is raising money for charities that support musicians who have had such a hard time during the Covid outbreak. Engagements simply dried up, there was no work to be had, and many had to make some very difficult decisions. Come to one or both recitals, hear some glorious music and help some very good causes.

Then, on Sundays August 8^th and 15^th there are afternoon concerts in Friston churchyard. Full details further down the pew sheet, and if last year was anything to go by there will be plenty to enjoy – and another very worthwhile charity, St Elizabeth’s Hospice, to support.

With my love and prayers, as ever

Mark

Collect
Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

First Reading
Exodus 16.2-4, 9-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Second Reading
Ephesians 4.1-16
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’  (When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Gospel Reading
John 6.24-35
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’  Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Sermon for 1^st August – Ninth Sunday after Trinity,
by The Revd James Marston

JOHN 6.1-21

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father son and holy spirit

“Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.”
John chapter 6; The feeding of the 5,000. It is one of the most familiar stories from the ministry of Jesus. The miracle where generosity overflows and the followers of Christ begin to understand something of who he is, after eating together.

This episode’s Eucharistic themes of drawing together and feeding the community is followed by a sense of recognition and understanding. Perhaps this is why this story resonates so powerfully. Because we too often miss what is happening until after the event.

I’m afraid we all often fail to see the depths of what God is doing, because we are all too focused only on what serves our own desires and needs. We fail to realize how graciously God is acting among us, for our sake and for the sake of the whole world.

As St Paul hints of in our reading this morning we may be “rooted and grounded in love” but we still need prayer to develop and nourish our faith and our souls. We may see something of the unknowable depth of the love of Christ but we only see partially and in distorted ways.

We need the continuing word and sacrament if we are to move more deeply into the glory of God. This is what the crowds need as well, though it will take all of chapter 6 to tell the story.

As many of you I talk far too much about myself, but if you’ll indulge me today I thought I might tell you something of my experience at the cathedral in Bury St Edmunds.

It has been a fascinating few weeks, not because I got to flounce around in my cassock, or swing the incense or sing an evensong – I did none of those things in the end. Instead the time there was used getting to know the clergy team, observing who does what, talking to the various congregation members and volunteers who serve God in that place in such a diverse and inspiring variety of ways.

I chatted with the Dean about church leadership, I discussed worship and liturgy with the liturgist, I spent time with the pastoral team that looks after and holds in prayer those who need and require that pastoral support. These are things we do in our benefice and it took me by surprise what we might learn from there, and indeed how the cathedral might even learn from us.

Yet above all those few weeks away gave me a chance to see myself with fresh eyes, and to see our context and churches with greater clarity. As well as giving me time to think, to assess, to stand back and to reflect on, not only the last two years but the future a bit as well. My placement at the cathedral was, in the end, less about learning cathedral ministry and more about reflecting on my own and our journey of formation and faith.

Changes, even transformations, have happened to me that I hadn’t realised had been going on. And as you, this congregation and those across the benefice, have been training me alongside Mark and the other clergy and, indeed the wider community, I thought it might be interesting to update you and share with you something of what this moment up the mountain, away from the hebdomadal routine, has revealed to me.

Firstly that, as I deaconed the mass at the cathedral, I was struck how far I’d come, how much more comfortable I am now in front of a large congregation, how powerful it is to read the gospel and how fortunate I am to have this calling. From my first service here when the nerves and adrenalin made me almost wonder however I’d got into it all to today when I preside on my own with excitement and gladness as we share again the Eucharistic feast.

But perhaps most importantly, my time away has made me realise how being here among you has ultimately deepened my faith, taught me to be seen through a different lens and shaped and encouraged my vocation and formation in ways I wasn’t expecting.

Not least, and now I see it is obvious, the startling recognition that the Holy Spirit is ultimately engaging us all, in different ways and in different respects on a journey to proclaim and to live the gospel in this place. It may not always feel like it, we may not even notice it, but we are all pulling on the same rope and engaged in the same project – one of simply sharing God’s love.

To be part of the Body of Christ in this benefice is to be in a community of mutual support and of love. And we must never lose sight of that.

As our rector Mark prepares to leave us, and this will be far more painful I think than we quite yet realise, I am, at the request of the bishops, to be curate-in-charge during what the church calls the interregnum.

Practically, this means that over the coming months, I am expecting to chair PCC meetings, work closely with the churchwardens, maintain the rota with clergy colleagues who will continue to take services, administer the sacraments, conduct the occasional offices, offer pastoral care, and keep the whole thing going, crucially, with your support and encouragement.

This in-between time is not really a time for big decisions or missional initiatives or unexpected changes in direction. We aren’t quite carrying on a normal, but we are carrying on.

And I promise we’ll do our best not to upset the flower ladies.

The concept of this time without leadership is one that is very different from the world from which I and most of us come. It might feel like a time of uncertainty and for many is frankly odd, in comparison with the commercial or public sector world.

Indeed, in previous incarnations my boss would have been replaced almost before he or she left – but in the church we take a step back, we calm ourselves, we reflect, we put our trust in God as we take time to think and look at ourselves and examine who and what we are and who and what we have become.

Just like Jesus and his disciples in John chapter 6, our community will go up the mountain to get a different view of things in order to come down it again and get on with the job we are all called to do.

Amen

Post Communion
Holy Father, who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language to share in the eternal
banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Next week
Sunday 8^th August
Tenth Sunday after Trinity

NOTICES

Mark’s Retirement As we all know, we will be saying a very sad farewell to our Rector, The Revd Mark Lowther at the end of August, as he starts his retirement.  All the churches in the Benefice are arranging last services etc for Mark, which I am sure the church you worship at has informed you.  At Aldeburgh we are hoping to have a  Summer Suffolk Farewell Concert, with Geoff Lavery, and friends performing on the 22nd August 3-4pm, followed by tea and cake in the Church Hall.  On the 29th August, we are hoping to have a Benefice Holy Communion Service.  On how many we have depends on you really.  We need your input.  Are you happy to attend church with larger numbers, without social distancing, and happy to sing, or would you prefer to be seated socially distanced and NOT sing? Or are you happy to celebrate Mark’s retirement at your preferred church you normally worship in?  We really want this to work, but need an idea of your wishes, so we can plan.  Your safety is our priority.  So please let Claire know your thoughts at admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk or speak to one of the clergy or churchwardens at the next service you attend.  Of course, all these celebrations can only go ahead if we are permitted to do so, and no restrictions return that could put people at risk.

Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Days in August UPDATE – THE FIRST FRIDAY MARKET WILL NOW BE ON THE 13TH AUGUST not the 6th as previously advertised. As many of you know August is the month for Aldeburgh Church to host their Friday Markets. Unfortunately, last year was cancelled due to Covid. This year things are hugely better, but we still need to approach with caution. So, this August we will have two Friday markets on the 13th and 27th 10am – 2pm. The proposed stalls are as follows: BBQ, Vegetables, Plants, Fruit and Flowers, Cakes and Savouries, Jams etc, Craft Stalls, General Bric a Brac. Tombola and Games. All the churches in the Alde Sandlings are invited to have their chosen stalls to raise much depleted funds for the churches. Please contact admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk if any church members of the Alde Sandlings Benefice would like to have a stall. EVERYONE WELCOME

Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week.

Aldringham Outdoor Services The services start at 11am in the beautiful Aldringham churchyard. Weather permitting, these services will continue throughout July, August and September. August 8th will be the date for the annual Animal Service, 3pm in the churchyard.  We can’t guarantee that there will be no interruptions as the animals may have difficulty following the order of service but all animals, insects, etc. (and their owners) ALL VERY WELCOME

Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets.

The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/ By clicking on the food bank’s name, you can also find out where to drop off your donations. If you would prefer to make a financial donation, then please visit the food bank’s website (under ‘Give help’) or you can donate to the Trussell Trust centrally by contacting our Supporter Care team on 01722 580 178 or emailing supportercare@trusselltrust.org

Pilgrims Together The Pilgrim’s will be taking an August break from the Wednesday evening Zoom gatherings. They will be returning on Wednesday 1st September. They continue to worship by The Meare at Thorpeness every Sunday in August. See poster in this newsletter for more information.

Tuesday Coffee Morning with Mark & Friends Our regular Zoom coffee morning will be from 10.30am – 11.30am every Tuesday. All are very welcome. Grab your favourite morning beverage and let’s have a good ole chat. Please contact admin@aldeburghchurch.org.uk for the links

The 2021 Suffolk Historic Churches Ride and Stride Saturday 11th September 9am-5pm The Annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists and walkers all round the country are out making money for their local county Churches Trust. If you would like to take part, you can either walk, cycle or be a recorder on the day, or of course, you might like to sponsor one of the team, please either: Email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk and Claire will pass on your details to the team organiser at each church. Or see them at the church you worship (Fran Smith, Aldeburgh, David Copp, Aldringham) where they will be pleased to give you a sponsor form and take your details. More information from Friston and Knodishall next week.

Project 48 Concerts at Aldeburgh Church 1st August 2pm & 4pm – We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by pianist Libby Burgess, who will be playing Bach’s Well Tempered Klavier. Tickets £10 on the door..